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  1. #1
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    RCBS Chargemaster: Experiments with time per throw

    I've been reading things around the net since I've had my Chargemaster for 5+ years about how to speed it up and make it more accurate with extruded powders like Varget and Reloder15. The two main "fixes" I've seen deal with the straw upgrade and reprogramming the fast, medium, and trickle spin times.

    I first took measurements as-is, calibrated the scale like normal. I used Reloder 15 and threw three charges and timed the duration of the throw for both my .308 load (43.6gr) and my .223 load (23.6gr) and calculated the average throw time. I stopped the timer as soon as it gave me the count number so I could be as consistent as humanly possible.


    Factory settings, no straw
    43.6gr

    Average of three throws: 26.01 seconds

    23.6gr
    Average of three throws: 23.56 seconds

    I've never really had a problem with over throws, maybe over by .1gr once every 10-15 throws but I wanted to test it. I cut about two inches off a McDonalds straw which fit very snugly in the tube, but cut jagged "teeth" around the throwing end. This made the granules drop through the nooks and worked well, but was VERY slow.

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    Factory settings WITH straw Mod:
    43.6gr

    Average of three throws: 62.15 seconds (+36.14s)

    23.6gr
    Average of three throws: 37.51 seconds (+13.95s)

    VERY accurate, because it was going so slow it couldn't possibly screw up. I won't use this by itself; needs timing adjustments badly.



    To adjust the factory settings of the motor speed intervals, which goes off the amount of grains it is currently away from the entered amount, you can watch a YouTube video or call RCBS; one YouTube video said RCBS customer service walked him through it. To access the menu, press MEM and ENTER simultaneously. Factory settings are: 1. 15.68 2. 3.42 3. 1.08. And again, that's how many grains away from the entered charge the computer will "shift gears" at. After the first three entries are adjusted, hit enter about twenty more times to cycle to the end. Adjusting these other things may mess up your Chargemaster. At the end, it will restart itself like during turn on

    The first adjustment I tried was a No-Go without the straw mod because it threw the powder so fast, it was overcharged before the computer recognized the weight to downshift or stop. My settings were 1. 9 2. 1.5 3. .5

    With the straw, it worked great:


    Modified setting 1, WITH straw
    43.6gr

    Average of three throws: 14.27 seconds

    23.6gr
    Average of three throws: 14.04 seconds


    I tried one other modified program to get it to work if no straw was desired. Settings were: 1. 10 2. 2 3. .5


    Modified Setting 2, NO straw:
    43.6gr

    Average of three throws: 14.78 seconds

    23.6gr
    Average of three throws: 12.31 seconds


    Modified Setting 2, WITH straw:
    43.6gr

    Average of three throws: 28.11 seconds

    23.6gr
    Average of three throws: 25.12 seconds


    I hope this information is helpful to anyone who might like tinkering around and who might want to save some (cumulative) time at the bench!

  2. #2
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    Wow! That is quite the improvement. Thanks for the idea.

    Do you run the Chargemaster on the bench with the press? I read somewhere operating the press while throwing powder affects the accuracy. Was thinking placing on a separate stand, maybe a 2 drawer filing cabinet, if I really need to. Or better to just fill a bunch of cases first then do seating? Forgive if questions sound "well duh". I'm a chicken novice trying to get it all straight in my head.
    “ When I comes to modern politics, I think the inverse of Hanlon's Razor applies...In other words, "Never attribute to stupidity that which is adequately explained by malice." - Kerplode

  3. #3
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    I use a single stage press so no worries about that. But I usually charge all my Brass first anyways.

    A fan blowing in the room can and will disturb the powder throws...even a strong draft from an AC air duct can.

  4. #4
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    Nice. Been wanting to try this out for a while. The charging is probably the slowest (and unquestionably most boring) part of the reloading process for me - 100 rounds takes me about an hour. Heck, I'd even thought of getting a second chargemaster to speed things up.

    Agree on the process of loading all the brass with powder as one step, then seating the bullets as a separate final step. I'm pretty sure it's faster than trying to combine the powder + bullet seating into a single final step. Also, I know on my bench, even if I open/close drawers when the powder throw is complete that there's a decent chance more powder will get deposited into the pan, causing an overage. Operating the press at the same time on the same bench as the chargemaster would definitely f*ck things up for me.

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